BOOK REVIEW
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Andre Agassi's Autobiography 'Lively but Narrow'
Open has griping, conceit, lots of tennis
By Evann Gastaldo
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Posted Nov 9, 09 8:30 AM CST
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(Newser)
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Andre Agassi’s autobiography has gotten a lot of hype, thanks to his admission of using both crystal meth and a toupee—but most of Open deals with “tennis, more tennis, the misery of tennis,” writes Janet Maslin in the New York Times. Still, even minutely detailed descriptions of matches prove “lively” thanks in part to writer JR Moehringer, whose name does not appear on the book: “Somebody on the memoir team has great gifts for heart-tugging drama.”
Other than the above-mentioned tabloid fodder, the most interesting parts of Open deal with Agassi’s tough ex-athlete father, who once smashed young Andre’s “sportsmanship” trophy, and first wife Brooke Shields, who is “not sufficiently interested in Mr. Agassi’s career,” but “does, damningly, show some interest in her own.” The book also features a plethora of “backhanded compliments” for enemies—but ends with “a fairy-tale finale,” thanks to current wife Steffi Graf.